Gerry van der Wende: How do I start over?

How Do I Start Over?
October 23, 2011

Hosea 11:4

Introduction

John grew up in a respectable home
His dad was a hardworking husband and father, his mother took care of the home and the children
John felt cared for and made a lot of good choices as he was growing up
He completed High School, went on to college, and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering
He landed a good job which paid well.
One evening John met a young lady
He was instantly attracted to her and as time went on they became engaged, and then were married.
Everything seemed to have gone well for John
But there came a day when John started making mistakes
After work, John would go to have a few drinks with his friends
He started drinking consistently, always thinking he had it under control
He ran into a lady friend, and they started seeing more and more of each other
Eventually, things started unraveling
John’s marriage of 12 years, dissolved in divorce
His children now spend one weekend with mom, one weekend with him
Things are a mess. He is sorry about how things have turned out
How can John start over?
We all have areas of our lives where we have been like John
How can we personally start over?
Today we are going to look at the beginning of the road back

What stops people from starting over?

There are many things that hold people back from starting over
There is the fear of what others will think about us if we turn around
There is the fear of what God thinks of us, would He really accept me back?
There is the guilt we feel inside, which makes us feel unworthy of having another opportunity to get it right
This can be so deeply engrained that we give up on trying
Hopelessness takes over
2 Cor 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death
Another thing that stops us from starting over, is our pride
We feel we’ve got it pretty well together
There are a few aspects of our life that need to change but by and large we are ok
We compare ourselves to others and think we’re doing fine
1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

How does God look at us?

Hosea 11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
God rescued Israel from slavery and made them a nation which was incredibly blessed
The Israelites would turn away from him
God encouraged the Israelites time and time again, to turn back
He wanted their salvation, not their destruction
The story of the Old Testament is a story of a backsliding nation, God warning them, them ignoring his prophets, and eventually them going into captivity
God sees us the same way
He has extended his hand of forgiveness to us, and offers us the way to holiness
But often we have become lax and spiritually lazy
We may have turned away from him for a time, perhaps even most of our lives

The prodigal son

Now lets turn to the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15
Luke 15:11-24
The Father’s attitude was one of welcoming his prodigal son back home
No matter where we have been or what we have done, God stands ready to welcome us back
We may have neglected serving him, we may have dabbled in the world’s ways
We may even have gone completely off the rails, and made a total mess of our lives
But God stands ready to welcome us back
More than that, he runs toward the prodigal
He actively pursues us, and chastens us and encourages us to come back
The good shepherd goes after the lost sheep and brings it back into the fold
He does not interfere with our power of choice though
We have to choose, is this the day I am turning back to God with my whole heart?
Jer 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart
God is not looking for half-hearted Christians
He seeks people with a pure heart.

Is this the day you will make a choice?

God is seeking you
You may have accepted Jesus a long time ago, but he seeks those whose heart is perfect before him
Do you want to be one of these?

Gerry van der Wende